Today's business practices often require that industrial products be traced during the production and distribution phases and more particularly in the case of high value industrial products. Generally, an identification data (ID) device attached to each industrial product is required. For productivity purposes, such an ID device needs to be read remotely and automatically by electronic interrogators/readers. Automation also reduces errors in information capture and allows for more accurate and more regular inventory management. This requires ID device, which however can communicate. Radiofrequency communication is a preferred solution as it allows for a diffuse transmission and is tolerant to being hidden, as opposed to optical solutions such as those using barcodes, which are more directive and quite intolerant to blocking bodies in the transmission path. The use of RFID tags is an economical and efficient method for such systems.
Typically, depending on the applications, different frequencies can be used, each corresponding to an ISO international standard and/or an EPC Global industrial standard. For example, the frequency range 860-930 MHz used for passive RFID corresponds to ISO 18000-6c and EPC Gen 2 Class 1 UHF and similarly the 13.56 MHz frequency corresponds to ISO 18000-3. The 433 MHz band used for active RFID corresponds to ISO18000-7.
It is known that personal digital assistants (“PDA”) or hand-held computers, which include memory means for storing various application programs, have however limited functionality for RFID communication. So they generally comprise in addition an expansion connector for interconnecting with different compatible modules (called add-ons), such as an active RFID module as illustrated in FIG. 4 or a barcodes module. However, once such an add-on module is connected to the PDA, the resulting combined device is bulky and not rugged enough to be used in industrial environment (particularly in regards with sealing and frequency sturdiness) and not well secured to the PDA, the two elements being able to break under manipulations for example. Moreover, the portability and the palm fitted design, which are a primary benefit of a PDA is especially affected by this adjunction of additional functions that provide a combined device considerably larger in depth and/or in width than the one originally designed by the manufacturer.
So, at present, no industrial solutions are disclosed and there is a substantial need for a hand-held computer like a PDA having additional functions such as an active RFID module and at least a barcodes module and that is particularly rugged and easy to grasp for a typical user.